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Zanpakutō Spirit
her master }} A Zanpakutō Spirit is the spirit embodying a Shinigami's Zanpakutō that resides within their master's inner world. Overview A Zanpakutō Spirit is a part of their Shinigami's soul, and their appearance and abilities are a reflection of this; as such, they also share their master's resolve. They exist in tandem with their master; they are born alongside their Shinigami, and die with them.Bleach anime; Episode 230 A Zanpakutō Spirit's power is separate from that of their owner, and when a Shinigami draws on this power in addition to their own, their Zanpakutō will become even stronger.Bleach manga; Chapter 111, pages 8-9 They dwell within the inner worlds of their Shinigami masters.Bleach anime; Episode 231 Appearance As unique reflections of their masters' souls, Zanpakutō Spirits do not share any common appearance traits.Bleach Official Character Book MASKED, page 68 However, a Zanpakutō Spirit's appearance reflects their name and the powers they grant their master. Their appearance can change while their master has their Bankai activated,Bleach manga; Chapter 409, pages 9-10 can be temporarily altered when their master uses a Shin'eiyaku,Bleach manga; Chapter 553, page 14 and varies drastically between spirits: *Zangetsu takes the form of his master, Ichigo Kurosaki, but with inverted colors,Bleach manga; Chapter 110, page 18 due to also being Ichigo's inner Hollow.Bleach manga; Chapter 540, page 13 *Zabimaru takes the form of a large, white-furred baboon with a snake for a tail.Bleach manga; Chapter 118, page 2 *Hyōrinmaru takes the form of an enormous, serpentine ice dragon with large wings.Bleach manga; Chapter -16, pages 16-17 *Katen Kyōkotsu takes the form of two separate Human women, due to being a Dual Zanpakutō.Bleach manga; Chapter 649 Personality Though a Zanpakutō Spirit's personality is also influenced by the soul of their master,Bleach manga; Chapter 229, page 19 they possess their own thoughts, feelings, opinions, and desires, which may differ from their master's to varying degrees.Bleach manga; Chapter 112, pages 2-4''Bleach'' manga; Chapter 118, pages 3-4''Bleach'' manga; Chapter 409, pages 18-19''Bleach'' anime; Episode 236, next episode preview Additionally, Zanpakutō Spirits are unwilling to teach their masters new techniques, and will engage them in battle in order to determine whether or not they are worthy.Bleach manga; Chapter 409, pages 13-14 They can also determine if their master is worthy of wielding their power.Bleach manga; Chapter 110, pages 10-11''Bleach'' manga; Chapter 110, page 19 In some instances, a Zanpakutō Spirit's personality can influence how their master can use their Zanpakutō in battle: *Ruri'iro Kujaku's favorite color is azure, and its least favorite color is wisteria. Because of this, Yumichika Ayasegawa, who wishes to hide its true power from others, can release it as instead of as , causing it to sulk and only release a fraction of its full power by becoming a melee-type Shikai.Bleach manga; Chapter 322, pages 4-5 *Katen Kyōkotsu refuses to let Shunsui Kyōraku fight at his full power and use the special techniques of his Shikai unless she is in the mood for it.Bleach manga; Chapter 374, page 5 *Benihime is described as "not nice" by Kisuke Urahara, who mentions that she would refuse to hold back her power against Ichigo's Zangetsu.Bleach manga; Chapter 66 *Hōzukimaru is very lazy, to the point that it takes Ikkaku Madarame some time to get his Bankai, Ryūmon Hōzukimaru, to full power.Bleach manga; Chapter 205 *Initially, Zabimaru did not fully acknowledge Renji Abarai's power, so when he attained Bankai, Zabimaru gave him a drastically weakened version of his Bankai form called . However, once Ichibē Hyōsube revealed the true name of his Bankai and Renji proved his strength to him, Zabimaru gave Renji access to his true Bankai, .Bleach manga; Chapter 564, pages 5-11 Communication and Tōshirō Hitsugaya perform Jinzen.]] Communication with one's Zanpakutō Spirit is essential for a Shinigami's growth. The most common method of communication between a Shinigami and their Zanpakutō Spirit is called , where the Shinigami places their Zanpakutō nearby, enters a meditative state, and merges their mind with that of their Zanpakutō Spirit while entering their inner world.Bleach manga; Chapter 408, page 3 Alternatively, a Shinigami proficient enough in communicating with their Zanpakutō Spirit can do so instantaneously and without any preparations. However, a Zanpakutō Spirit can also pull their master into their inner world''Bleach'' manga; Chapter 110, pages 10-13 or manifest itself in the real world in order to speak with their master.Bleach manga; Chapter 118, pages 1-5 A lack of communication between a Shinigami and their Zanpakutō Spirit can lead to the power of both being weakened''Bleach'' manga; Chapter 113, pages 7-8 and even prevent a Shinigami from releasing their Zanpakutō.Bleach anime; Episode 251 Communication can be lost or prevented for several reasons: *Kenpachi Zaraki never heard the voice of his Zanpakutō Spirit because of the mental power limiters he subconsciously placed on himself during his first battle with Retsu Unohana,Bleach manga; Chapter 525, pages 9-13 leading to the power of both him and his Zanpakutō being severely degraded.Bleach manga; Chapter 113, page 8 Additionally, Kenpachi did not even attempt to communicate with his Zanpakutō Spirit because he believed Zanpakutō were simply tools of war that only weaklings fought alongside.Bleach manga; Chapter 113, page 12 *Tōshirō Hitsugaya lost the ability to communicate with Hyōrinmaru after Cang Du stole his Bankai with a Medallion.Bleach manga; Chapter 497, pages 3-4 *Kōga Kuchiki's descent into madness led to the bond between him and Muramasa degrading over time, making it harder and harder for Muramasa to hear Kōga's voice and eventually preventing Kōga from releasing his Zanpakutō at all. By openly renouncing his ties with Muramasa,Bleach anime; Episode 252 Kōga completely severed all bonds with his Zanpakutō spirit, making it impossible for Muramasa to hear his voice again when Kōga later called out for him.Bleach anime; Episode 253 Zanpakutō Rebellion Note: This event took place only in the anime and information concerning it does not constitute canon material. During the Zanpakutō Rebellion, a Zanpakutō Spirit named Muramasa manifested dozens of other Zanpakutō Spirits into the real world, claiming he intended to end the tyranny of the Shinigami over them. This led to numerous changes in the appearances, personalities, and powers of the Zanpakutō Spirits who were manifested this way. Appearance The Zanpakutō Spirits' physical appearances were radically altered by this event. Those with animal-like spirit forms gained humanoid bodies in the real world, with Zabimaru manifesting as a fur-covered woman attached to a snake-like boy by a chain''Bleach'' anime; Episode 234 and Hyōrinmaru manifesting as a green-haired man with a large scar on his face. However, all of them still possessed appearance traits correlating to their name and powers, as well as their master's personality and appearance. These changes left the Zanpakutō Spirits unrecognizable to most of their masters, requiring the Shinigami to attain confirmation by having their Zanpakutō Spirit reveal their name,Bleach anime; Episode 237''Bleach'' anime; Episode 246 witnessing their powers first-hand,Bleach anime; Episode 238 or performing a test of some sort to confirm their identity, although some Shinigami determined a Zanpakutō Spirit's identity from simply looking at them.Bleach anime; Episode 242''Bleach'' anime; Episode 248 The reason for these physical changes is unknown; Gegetsuburi blames Marechiyo Ōmaeda's physical appearance for his manifestation's large amount of body fat, but Suzumebachi claims she chose her manifested appearance because she did not like Suì-Fēng's "lame style".Bleach anime; Episode 243 Personality Most of the Zanpakutō Spirits underwent a drastic change in personality upon manifestation because of the influence of Muramasa's brainwashing; they became destructive, merciless, arrogant, cruel,Bleach anime; Episode 235 short-tempered, vain, and sadistic.Bleach anime; Episode 239 However, some Zanpakutō Spirits did not gain these traits; Hyōrinmaru pursued his own goals and only fought others to determine whether or not they were his master, and Hisagomaru remained timid and gentle, though confused by his separation from Hanatarō Yamada.Bleach anime; Episode 259 Additionally, all of the Zanpakutō Spirits shared certain personality traits and fighting styles with their masters.Bleach anime; Episode 244 Most of the Zanpakutō Spirits manifested by Muramasa did not like an aspect of their master or had a goal of their own, which Muramasa exploited in order to brainwash them: *Gonryōmaru left Chōjirō Sasakibe because he was frustrated with Chōjirō's lack of a presence in the 1st Division. *Suzumebachi left Suì-Fēng because she hated Suì-Fēng's devotion to Yoruichi Shihōin and inability to pay attention to herself. *Gegetsuburi left Marechiyo because he detested Marechiyo's appearance and braggart personality. *Tobiume left Momo Hinamori because she wished to become stronger and did not want to stay with someone who was as weak as Momo was. *Zabimaru left Renji because he had grown tired of Renji's weakness and wished to become stronger on his own. *Katen Kyōkotsu left Shunsui because they could not stand his arrogance. *Kazeshini left Shūhei Hisagi because he did not believe Hisagi truly understood him. *Haineko left Rangiku Matsumoto because she wished to lead a new and exciting life without Rangiku. *Hōzukimaru left Ikkaku Madarame because he hated how Ikkaku acted like a "badass" without having the skill to back it up. *Ruri'iro Kujaku left Yumichika because he detested Yumichika hiding his true power for the sake of remaining in the 11th Division. *Sode no Shirayuki left Rukia Kuchiki because she was resentful toward Rukia for not considering how she was effectively forcing Sode no Shirayuki to lend her power.Bleach anime; Episode 232 *Zangetsu left Ichigo in order to determine who was stronger between the two of them.Bleach anime; Episode 236 After being defeated by their masters or having their brainwashing reversed by Mayuri Kurotsuchi, the Zanpakutō Spirits regained their original personalities, removing any animosity they held toward their masters.Bleach anime; Episode 254 However, Zanpakutō Spirits who had killed their masters after manifesting lost their minds and became known as the Tōjū.Bleach anime; Episode 256 Powers & Abilities The manifested Zanpakutō Spirits had the ability to manifest and release their sealed Zanpakutō form at any time, though some only summoned their Shikai instead of their sealed state.Bleach anime; Episode 241 However, a few Zanpakutō Spirits used weapons other than their Zanpakutō forms in battle: *Gonryōmaru wielded a long pike. *Suzumebachi wielded a large stinger on her right arm that possessed the same power as her Shikai form did. *Tobiume used two large bells connected by a long sash to throw fireballs at her opponents. *Tenken wielded a pair of bolas. *Sōgyo no Kotowari used a large scroll and a pair of fans for various attacks.Bleach anime; Episode 247 Additionally, some Zanpakutō Spirits displayed the ability to manipulate an element that their Zanpakutō form could not: *Tenken possessed the ability to generate fire along his weapons. *Kazeshini displayed the ability to use wind in his attacks and transform into a tornado. *Sōgyo no Kotowari could use their fans to fire bolts of lightning. As the embodiment of their sword form's power, the manifested Zanpakutō Spirits possessed absolute control over their own power, in some cases displaying greater proficiency at using their techniques than their masters did: *Zabimaru's Hihiō Zabimaru possessed no blind spots. *Hyōrinmaru could use techniques of his Bankai form with his Zanpakutō form still sealed. *The range of Sode no Shirayuki's Some no mai, Tsukishiro was not limited to the area within her sword swing. Effects of Manifestation The manifested Zanpakutō Spirits leaving their swords had a dramatic impact on the Shinigami. At first, they simply could not communicate with their Zanpakutō, but within a day of the manifestation, no one could release their Shikai. This left many Shinigami unprepared to fight without the aid of their Zanpakutō's special abilities, and forced them to develop new fighting styles in order to compensate for this loss. Though Shinigami could regain access to their Shikai upon strengthening their resolve, they remained unable to activate their Bankai until they defeated their Zanpakutō Spirit in combat. References Navigation Category:Races Category:Zanpakutō Spirit Category:Zanpakutō Category:Important Terms Category:World of Bleach Category:Conjectural-Named Articles